Vision of Humanity offers beautiful infographics on the state of the planet

Filed under: Design, Education
Vision of Humanity is one of the most beautiful and thorough visualizations that I have recently seen.
It's a zoomable Flash world map, which lets you browse and compare a vast number of "peace indicators," such as level of violent crime, access to weapons, jailed population, relations with neighboring countries, and more.
You view a world heat map, which shows where that index is most prevalent. You can zoom in on a specific country and browse through all of its indicators, and you can compare two or more countries.
The site takes all of these indicators and derives a single number, which it calls the "peace index." At a glance, you can basically see which countries are the most peaceful and which ones rank worst on the list.
As per usual with these tools, the tool itself is very impressive, but I cannot say that I fully trust the data. The data comes from an entity that calls itself the Institute for Economics & Peace, which is an incredibly nebulous name. Even reading their About page didn't improve my level of trust in this "institute." There's a Wikipedia entry about them, so they seem to be real. I cannot, however, vouch for the quality of the data.
Still, from a technology/design viewpoint, this is an impressive visualization that I could easily spend a great deal of time with, discovering new (if troubling) facts.
Share TweetVision of Humanity offers beautiful infographics on the state of the planet originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Vision of Humanity offers beautiful infographics on the state of the planet

Filed under: Design, Education
Vision of Humanity is one of the most beautiful and thorough visualizations that I have recently seen.
It's a zoomable Flash world map, which lets you browse and compare a vast number of "peace indicators," such as level of violent crime, access to weapons, jailed population, relations with neighboring countries, and more.
You view a world heat map, which shows where that index is most prevalent. You can zoom in on a specific country and browse through all of its indicators, and you can compare two or more countries.
The site takes all of these indicators and derives a single number, which it calls the "peace index." At a glance, you can basically see which countries are the most peaceful and which ones rank worst on the list.
As per usual with these tools, the tool itself is very impressive, but I cannot say that I fully trust the data. The data comes from an entity that calls itself the Institute for Economics & Peace, which is an incredibly nebulous name. Even reading their About page didn't improve my level of trust in this "institute." There's a Wikipedia entry about them, so they seem to be real. I cannot, however, vouch for the quality of the data.
Still, from a technology/design viewpoint, this is an impressive visualization that I could easily spend a great deal of time with, discovering new (if troubling) facts.
Share TweetVision of Humanity offers beautiful infographics on the state of the planet originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Color Theory is a retro-tastic platformer - Time-Waster

Filed under: Fun, Games, Time-Wasters
You've gotta love those retro games! Color Theory is an 8-bit style platformer, wherein your blocky character jumps all over the screen and hits colored "tokens."
Each level is composed of platforms in a number of colors. As soon as you hit a colored token, all of the matching platforms become transparent. So, if a blue wall is blocking your way, just find a blue token, hit it, and the blue wall becomes transparent.
It quickly gets complicated, though; some platforms have spikes, and there are Pacman-style "ghosts" that move around and get in your way. Also, there's a "gravity-shifter" token, which flips gravity in the game - up becomes down and vice versa. It's pretty confusing!
You can't always see where you're jumping, but the designer helpfully included arrows and other hints. If you aim for the arrow, you'll land wherever you need to land in order to keep going.
Some of the levels require very precise timing, like level 12 (shown in the screenshot); that's where I got stuck. It's not a very difficult game, though, and it's lots of fun. How far did you get?Color Theory is a retro-tastic platformer - Time-Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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LG Optimus 7 Windows Phone 7 prototype flicks photos to TVs, launches October

We were a bit surprised to find LG's prototype Windows Phone 7 device for developers, soon to be unveiled officially as the Optimus 7 when released in its production form, hanging out in the wilds of IFA. Nevertheless, there it was, streaming DLNA content to a WiFi enabled TV. LG worked with Microsoft to develop a custom DLNA media sharing capability for its GW910 handset. Just one of the ways hardware partners are able to differentiate themselves on the otherwise locked down Windows Phone 7 platform. It certainly makes sense that LG would play to its strengths in the television industry as it moves to market with the device as early as next month according to our sources. Watch the trick flip-to-TV photo sharing interface in action after the break.Continue reading LG Optimus 7 Windows Phone 7 prototype flicks photos to TVs, launches OctoberLG Optimus 7 Windows Phone 7 prototype flicks photos to TVs, launches October originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Sep 2010 07:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

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Mad Catz Tips Green Beret to Call of Duty: Spec Ops With Limited Edition Headsets [Headphones]

Mad Catz has debuted a new line of gaming headsets for the launch of Call of Duty: Spec Ops. Coming in varieties for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC commandos, the headsets feature 5.1 Dolby Digital sound and detachable microphones. More »

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Firefox Friday, a weekly round-up: Beta 4, Beta 5, Panorama, breaking add-ons and our Private Browsing habits analyzed

This week has produced some fantastic Firefox news. That's a good thing, but because we covered it all on Download Squad in a timely fashion, it leaves me with a bit of a problem: there's no new news to share with you. I've been left with producing a round-up for this week's Firefox column. I've never done a round-up before, but I'm sure it'll be good.

I think I'm meant to take each nibble of news and provide a refreshing, opinionated point of view that throws it into a new light. Let's start with one that got a lot more interest than we anticipated:

1. Firefox 4 Beta 5 will feature a two-column main menu

I think I actually told Lee that this one wasn't worth posting..., how wrong I was!
"It's like one of those Google-search-box-grows-by-18-pixels stories." Personally, I hate Chrome's unified wrench menu, and I'm disheartened to see it make an appearance in Firefox.

This is the next stage of the Web Revolution; where the browser was once your trusty portal to the Web, it will now become a svelte platform for other Web apps. Think of the new Firefox menu as a Windows Start menu, and you'll see what I mean. In fact, I wonder if we'll ever see a browser menu at the bottom of the window, rather than the top...

At least, with Firefox, you can keep the full menu bar -- with Chrome, you're stuck with that damn one-button wrench wonder!

2. Tab Candy, Tab Sets, PANORAMA is confirmed as a new feature of Firefox 4

The brainchild of maniacal, Mountain View-based Aza Raskin has a new name, a new look, and even an introductory video on the Firefox Beta site! It sounds like it's being narrated by someone that's seeking entrance to the Movie Trailer Voice Over Society, but it's well worth watching.

Panorama, if you missed our introductory posts on its predecessor Tab Candy, introduces a whole new paradigm in tab management and, thus, browser-based workflow! Using the "out of sight, out of mind" tenet, Aza hopes that Panorama will greatly improve both productivity and the joy of surfing the Internet. (He pontificates on Pover on his blog, if you want to find out more!)

Of course, if you're an Opera fan, you'll know all about tab grouping, and you won't need me to tell you of its benefits...
3. Erez thinks that Firefox 4.0's extensive changes to its add-on framework are too much too soon

You'd be surprised, but one of the biggest changes in Firefox 4 is also one of the least-advertised: add-ons, and how they hook into Firefox, are changing in a big way with the release of 4.0.

There's always a bit of compatibility pain when a new version of Firefox is released -- usually it's just a matter of developers changing a few numbers in the code -- but with Firefox 4.0 there are so many changes that many popular add-ons might simply not work.

I don't have any hard and fast numbers (nor does Erez) as to how many add-ons will be incompatible come FF4's release, so it's hard to gauge just how big an issue this is. I'm pretty sure this is a case of "it'll get worse before it gets better," with these changes designed to make the transition to Jetpack (in Firefox 5?) smoother. Firefox 4 currently supports both Jetpack and the old-style XUL add-ons that we've all been using for years -- but these changes represent the beginning of the end for XUL, I'm afraid.


4. A Test Pilot study shows when we use Private Browsing, and for how long (read: porn surfers unite!)

The facts are simple: we use Private Browsing for 10 minutes at a time, and we use it during four main time slots. The late-night and after-work spikes are obvious (porn), but that lunch-hour spike has caused a lot of discussion by the community.

I think people are masturbating at work, but then the puritan Adam Pash (of Lifehacker fame) thinks there are plenty of non-porny uses of Private Browsing. I'm not convinced; yes there are plenty of reasons for using Private Browsing but they don't explain why 75% of all private sessions are close to 10 minutes in length. Perhaps people are doing multiple 10-minute activities, but why would you close the browser in between checking your bank statement and Facebook?

I just hope the next Test Pilot study also (anonymously!) captures what sites are looked at in those 10 glorious minutes.

5. Firefox 4 won't support your ancient PowerPC G4 Apple iBook

I'm struggling to find anything interesting to add to Jay's commentary of the issue. The facts of the matter are thus: the G4 iBook probably represents only a few thousand installations world wide. In fact, the iBook is only still used because of Carrie from Sex and the City. Mozilla, in its infinite wisdom, has decided that it isn't a valid use of its time to make its new technology work with 11-year-old CPUs.

Anyway, Jay's advice is to get a new Mac. My advice is to get a Windows 7 PC.

* * *Firefox Friday, a weekly round-up: Beta 4, Beta 5, Panorama, breaking add-ons and our Private Browsing habits analyzed originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Dell moves back up to #2 position in global PC sales, Acer slips to 3rd, HP still reigns supreme

Acer Chairman JT Wang is quick to say that he thinks that iPad sales are only going down from here, but maybe he should listen to that age-old idiom: people in fragile economies shouldn't throw stones. According to iSuppli's latest report on the global PC market, Acer slipped down to third place after losing 6.2 percent of its market share compared to last quarter. Dell, meanwhile, lost a relatively slim 1.2 percent of its share, bumping it back up to second place -- a position it had previously given up to Acer. Meanwhile HP still sits on top, commanding 18.1 percent of the market share, though that too is down, 6.3 percent over last quarter. Still, all three are well up over last year, an encouraging sign in these supposedly troubling times.Dell moves back up to #2 position in global PC sales, Acer slips to 3rd, HP still reigns supreme originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink The Inquirer  |  iSuppli  | Email this | Comments

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